Patrick Mahomes II's love of Texas Tech will never die. The biggest name in the world of football, he could easily just be concerned with his own interests. Instead, he continues to give back to the Red Raiders in a big way. In fact, he's on the verge of becoming the university's greatest recruiting tool.
This week, in addition to making a $5 million donation to the South Endzone Project at Jones Stadium, Mahomes announced that, along with adidas, he is signing six Texas Tech student-athletes to N.I.L. deals.
Micah Hudson, (Football), NiJaree Canady (Softball), Jasmine Shavers (Women's Basketball), Matthew Comegys (Golf), Sam Courtwight (Soccer), and TJ Pompey (Baseball) were invited to Team Mahomes when the three-time Super Bowl MVP made a surprise trip to Lubbock to meet the Red Raider athletes and provide them with Mahomes brand gear.
"The energy around this partnership has been incredible, and this announcement shows just how important this is to me, adidas and Texas Tech," Mahomes said. "adidas has been a collaborative partner from the start, and we worked together to select athletes who are among the best and embody the drive and dedication we're looking for in a Team Mahomes athlete. We've got a lot of great stuff coming up for the Red Raiders – stay tuned for more."
While these deals are just a start, it isn't hard to envision what this program could become for Texas Tech. In fact, the "Team Mahomes" idea could become the greatest recruiting tool the university has at its disposal.
While it is possible that this N.I.L. movement could expand to athletes outside of Texas Tech, it is telling that the program has begun by sponsoring Red Raiders first. What's more, five of the six play sports that are not revenue-generating.
Remember, the sports that don't bring in enough money to pay for themselves, mainly sports other than football and men's basketball, are in danger of seeing their funding reduced or even worse, being cut altogether because of the new NCAA revenue-sharing model that will require schools to pay millions of dollars to student-athletes in upcoming years.
"The creation of Team Mahomes further positions Texas Tech Athletics as a national leader in NIL. This wouldn't be possible without a tremendous partner in adidas that believes strongly in investing in our student-athletes under the Patrick Mahomes brand," said Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt. "In this era of sports, there aren't many generational athletes like Patrick Mahomes who promote their alma mater so proudly and give back in such a meaningful manner."
What athlete in today's sports landscape wouldn't want to be associated with Patrick Mahomes II? The Mahomes brand is quickly becoming one of the most recognizable in sports and his name carries as much weight as just about any sports figure who has become a pop-culture icon.
Thus, as this specific N.I.L. program moves forward and grows, the Red Raiders could be in for a recruiting windfall across the athletic department, not just in the realm of football, as everyone wants to be associated with Patrick Mahomes.
It is refreshing for the school's most prominent alum to continue to give back to his alma mater as generously as Mahomes does. We don't see other star NFL quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Aaron Rogers, Lamar Jackson, etc. making this kind of news by supporting their school's N.I.L. efforts as feverishly as Mahomes is.
Mahomes could be like just about every other star player in professional sports and live only for his own career and achievements. Instead, he's as invested as almost anyone in seeing Texas Tech succeed and doing whatever he can to put his school over the top. That's why the Red Raiders are truly fortunate to have Mahomes as the face of the university for years to come.
